Bacon Ranch Easy Chicken Salad - Low Carb, Keto, THM (2024)

My Bacon Ranch Chicken Salad is bursting with flavor. It is rich and creamy with cheddar, bacon, and dill. This is the BEST keto chicken salad you will ever eat. It comes together in minutes as a delicious lunch or summer dinner.

Over the last few years, the bacon ranch flavor combination has become a favorite of my entire family. They love any dish with those flavors. Throw in some cheddar too and you have a real winner.

We love my Bacon Ranch Chicken Casserole so much that I needed to come up with a version for the warmer weather in June, July, and August. This low carb chicken salad recipe does the trick.

For an easy summer main dish try this chicken bacon ranch salad recipe.

Homemade Ranch Seasoning

I get a lot of questions about my ranch recipes because I do not use bottled ranch dressing or ranch dressing packets. I use a specific blend of herbs and spices to create a ranch flavor from scratch!

You do not need the processed versions with all their additives to get a ranch flavor. Making your own keto friendly spice mixes and dressings for your keto diet is an easy way to ensure they are low carb and gluten free.

I tend to use dried herbs but fresh dill is great if you have it. With my ranch seasoning, this really is the best homemade keto chicken salad out there.

You can change up the seasoning in this and replace the ranch with myKeto Fajita Seasoning or Smoked Paprika Rub.

Other Ingredients

Besides the ingredients in the sauce you only need three ingredients.

Cubed Cooked Chicken - Any cooked chicken is fine. I normally use chopped chicken breast but shredded chicken works too.

Chopped Bacon - Fresh crisp chopped bacon is great but bacon crumbles that come in the pantry section work well.

Shredded Cheddar Cheese - If you don't have cheddar mozzarella cheese or Monterey jack are my next choices.

How to Make Bacon Ranch Chicken Salad

Step One: Mix together the sauce ingredients in a bowl.

Step Two: Chop the bacon and chicken.

Step Three: Mix those in along with the shredded cheese. That's it!

Variations

Yogurt - If you are looking for a lighter chicken salad use Greek yogurt in place of the mayonnaise or try this healthy chicken salad.

Crunch - Want to add in some crunch? Add chopped celery, green onions, bell pepper, or red onion.

Avocado - Love avocado? That is great in this too! Or you can even serve it on top of a halved avocado.

Lettuce Wrap - Serve inside a romaine lettuce wrap for a handheld lunch. Add in some slices of tomatoes or cucumbers to boost the veggies.

Vegetarian - Swap out the chicken for broccoli florets and leave out the bacon. I use this as the base for my broccoli salad! You can also use it as a base for pasta salad.

Common Questions

What type of chicken do I use for chicken salad?

I use grilled chicken marinated in my Ranch Yogurt Marinade for this recipe for double the ranch flavor. I love ranch. Whenever we grill chicken breasts I make enough to have leftovers for quick and easy lunches. Chicken salad is one of our default summer keto recipes.

Any type of leftover cooked chicken is fine as long as it doesn't have a contrasting flavor. This is a great way to use up leftover chicken from other low carb recipes, from meal prep, grilled, baked, or made in the instant pot. I wouldn't recommend using leftover chicken with an Asian marinade or spicy Mexican rub. You can make this keto chicken salad with leftover rotisserie chicken or even canned chicken breast. If you use canned chicken breast just make sure to cut back on the salt or it might be too salty.

How many servings does this make?

This makes 2 servings of keto chicken salad. Feel free to double or triple to serve your entire family. I normally just make this for myself for lunch for a couple of days. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

How many carbs in chicken salad?

This varies A LOT. Many store-bought chicken salads add sugar so if you are buying chicken salad instead of making it always read the label.

My keto chicken salad has 1 carb per serving so it is a great choice in place of higher carb chicken salad recipes and store bought salads!

What do I serve with chicken salad?

Bacon Cheddar Ranch Chicken Salad is great served with a fork. I tend to just eat it plain but other times I'll put it inside a low carb tortilla, lettuce leaves, or serve it on top of baby spinach. If you have a low carb bread you like chicken salad sandwiches are delicious too.

You can also serve it on these Cheddar Ranch Keto Biscuits for extra ranch flavor!

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Originally published May 20, 2016, Revised and republished April 8, 2020.